On Echoes

Researchers have unearthed what are probably the only surviving recordings of the voices of Virginia Woolf, from 50 years earlier, of Alexander Graham Bell (below) and from a quarter of a century earlier still, perhaps the oldest sound recording of all, French schoolchildren singing Au clair de la lune.

Such echoes from long ago resonate at a deep, even shared level, which seems fitting, as literature, telephony and music can all provide shared experience across time and/or place.

Further reading and listening:

• Hearing the ancient past